As Julius sat beside the campfire, enjoying both his meal and the sight of Rosalina eating with complete dedication, a thought suddenly entered his mind.

It wasn’t an important thought. It wasn’t a profound realization that would change the course of history.

In fact, it was the sort of thought that only appeared when a person’s stomach was full and their brain had nothing better to do.

"Hey, Rose."

Rosalina paused midway through tearing off another piece of chicken and looked at him. Her brows lowered slightly. It was a look Julius had become very familiar with over the past few months.

What?

The question was never spoken aloud, yet somehow it always appeared on her face.

"Wanna hear a poem?"

An eager grin spread across Julius’s face.

Rosalina looked at him suspiciously before taking another bite. She was currently working through what she considered the best section of the chicken and clearly had no intention of abandoning it.

Still, the night was peaceful, the food was good, and there wasn’t much else to do.

"Sure."

Julius immediately straightened.

Rosalina regretted her decision almost instantly.

"Ahem."

He cleared his throat with all the confidence of a seasoned bard preparing to perform before royalty.

The crackling fire illuminated his face while the cool breeze rustled the grass around them.

Rosalina patiently waited.

Julius raised a finger, then, in a strange sing-song voice, he began:

"World is blue~"

"The night is clue~"

"The air has flue~"

"There is dust in my shoe~"

Rosalina stopped chewing.

Julius, however, was only getting started.

Without warning, he placed a hand over his chest and switched into what he clearly believed was a tragic romantic voice.

"Oh~ listen to me."

"My world was bland without her cherry."

"Will she agree go our marry?"

"And have my children for the bloodline to carry?"

The performance ended. Julius lowered his hand and looked toward Rosalina with the confidence of a man who expected applause.

The campfire crackled, the wind blew softly across the hill and Rosalina stared at him with a dead pan look, she had difficulties suppressing the urge to facepalm.

She hadn’t even taken a single bite since the poem started. A piece of chicken remained frozen halfway between her plate and her mouth.

For several moments she simply looked at him, her sauce-covered lips slightly parted as though her mind was struggling to process what it had just witnessed.

Julius puffed out his chest.

"This masterpiece," he announced proudly, "is dedicated to you, my dear."

The look on Rosalina’s face immediately changed. A faint expression of disgust appeared.

It wasn’t particularly intense. In fact, it was far worse than intense disgust....It was disappointment.

"You call that poetry?"

The words struck Julius harder than any attack he had received since arriving in this world. The smile on his face was wiped off like germs when you spray sanitizer.

Rosalina continued mercilessly.

"If actual poets heard that, they would probably throw away their pens and spend the rest of their lives farming vegetables."

Julius blinked.

Rosalina took another bite of chicken.

"If you ever compose another poem, at least warn me first so I can prepare myself mentally."

She gave a small snort and returned her full attention to her meal. The judgment had been delivered.

Julius remained motionless beside the fire.

In his mind, the poem had sounded magnificent.

The rhymes were obvious, the emotions were clear, the artistic vision was undeniable. At least, that was what he had believed thirty seconds ago.

Now he wasn’t so sure.

Slowly, he lowered his gaze toward the chicken in his hands. The roasted meat stared back silently.

For some reason, even it seemed disappointed. Julius sat there quietly while the campfire crackled beside him.

The earlier warmth and confidence had completely vanished.

Meanwhile, Rosalina continued eating happily, occasionally humming to herself as though she hadn’t just destroyed a man’s artistic career before it had even begun.

*****

Once she finished eating and had polished off half of the other chicken, her stomach felt pleasantly full. She wiped her mouth clean and settled back into her seat with a satisfied little smile.

"You know," she began, her voice warm with a smile, "though you suck at poetry, I gotta admit you’re a good cook." She said it lightly, hoping to lift his mood as he sat right beside her, sulking and staring into the fire.

"Oi?" she asked when he gave no reply. Still nothing. A small frown creased her face as she shifted closer.

’Did I hurt his feelings too much?’ she wondered, feeling a slight pang at seeing him like this.

In her defense, she hadn’t known poetry was his hobby, and he really did suck at it, not just a little.

The poem had no real meaning. What was "the world is blue and the night is clue" even supposed to mean? How could the world be blue? If he had said red, maybe she could have pictured a full moon night, but blue? Seriously?

And "the night is clue"? Was that meant to be some puzzle, like the night held the answer to a great mystery? Then those awful lines about "my world was bland without her cherry."

Cherry? Then will she agree go our marry? His grammar was all wrong too...he had just thrown words together to force a rhyme.

’But whatever...’ she thought. Now that he was sulking, she needed to find a way to cheer him up. She really didn’t like this version of his face.

"Hah!" She let out a breath, thinking it over. ’How should I cheer him...’ As the idea hit her, she paused. A slow, knowing grin spread across her face. It was actually quite easy.

She moved even closer and gently ran her hand over his hair. At first, he showed no reaction, but she still had plenty of cards left to play.

Slowly, she slid her robe a bit lower around her chest, pretending it felt too hot despite the cool wind that kept blowing.

It worked. Julius turned his head and looked. A deep red flush spread across his face.

"Well?" Rosalina smirked. "Do you want some love~" She opened her mouth and let out a soft breath, a little steam visible in the air.

’Gulp.’ Julius swallowed hard but quickly turned away. He was trying to act tough. Now wasn’t the time to get distracted by some melons.

"Hmm?" Rosalina raised her brows. ’So that’s how it is, huh?’ Her smirk grew wider as she realized what he was doing, and she stood up.

Julius ignored her, planning to make her regret it by staying silent for a few days so she would understand her mistake. But she wasn’t exactly a sane person... Right then, her hand grabbed his collar.

"Hehe..." she chuckled softly. "Honey, it seems you need some help~" She leaned in closer to his neck, her warm breath tickling his skin. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Julius wanted to resist and started to push her grip away, but Rosalina pulled him firmly. Without giving him any chance to fight back, she dragged him inside the tent.

"Now undress," she said with a playful glint in her eye, "or should I do it myself?"